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01/22/2006:

"Africa pays highest price for globalisation"

JOHANNESBURG: Anti-globalisation protestors are gathering this week for the first World Social Forum in Africa, the world’s poorest continent which they say is the worst victim of a process aimed at reducing inequalities.

Thousands of anti-globalisation activists, debt relief campaigners and African advocates for the rural poor were to meet in the west African country of Mali from Wednesday to discuss alternative development models.

Africa, which is home to 10 per cent of the world’s population, accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of global trade, and has been completely bypassed by globalisation, analysts say.

"It has been an unmitigated disaster for Africa," said Pheki Moyo, a researcher at the Pretoria-based Africa Institute.

"In terms of the balance of forces, globalisation has not yielded anything to Africa," he told AFP. "In the 1950s, Africa’s share in world trade was around seven per cent. In 2002, it was around two per cent and stands now at 1.5 per cent. "

"In the same token, foreign direct investment in the 1980s was around 30 per cent and in 2002-2003 it dropped to seven per cent. We are dragging behind other poor and developing areas, especially Asia," said Moyo.
jang.co.pk